Revisiting the Original SUPER MARIO BROS. Movie (1993)

The Weekly Stuff Podcast #460

It’s time for another episode of The Weekly Stuff Podcast with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman, a weekly audio show that explores the worlds of film, television, and video games. You can subscribe for free in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Illumination Entertainment’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie is opening in theaters next month, and is looking like a surprisingly faithful, entertaining adaptation of the beloved video game characters. But it’s not the first time Hollywood has tried this – thirty years ago, there was Super Mario Bros., a live-action adaptation starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, and Dennis Hopper that wound up having almost nothing to do with the video games, bombed spectacularly at the box-office, and was weirdly dark, grotesque, and horny. It is one of the most bizarre films ever made, and has one of the most incredible, mind-boggling production histories we’ve ever seen. So on the eve of Mario returning to theaters in a more recognizable form, we thought now would be a good time to look back on the first attempt to bring the plumber to the big screen, and how this infamous cinematic trainwreck took form.

Enjoy!

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The Weekly Stuff with Jonathan Lack & Sean Chapman is a weekly audio podcast, and if you subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, episodes will be delivered automatically and for free as soon as they are released. Visit www.weeklystuffpodcast.com for a complete archive of streaming and downloadable episodes.